Posted on 08/25/2011 8:11:27 AM PDT by Cronos
Cape Verde, one of Africa's most stable and prosperous nations, headed for change Monday as liberal opposition candidate Jorge Carlos Fonseca unseated the party which held the presidency for a decade.
Fonseca, a former foreign minister, won 54.90 percent of the vote Sunday, besting his socialist rival Manuel Inocencio Sousa, who garnered 45.91 percent of the vote, according to results from 99.28 percent of polling stations.
Lauded as an African success story for achieving political and economic stability, the island country keeps afloat through tourism and the service industry despite meagre natural resources and water shortages.
The election in the former Portuguese colony off the northwestern coast of Africa saw a battle between the candidates of the two parties that have dominated the political scene for the past two decades.
The campaign hinged on the need to modernise the economy and keep growth steady while dealing with unemployment rates of up to 18 percent.
Cape Verde is a parliamentary democracy in which the president plays a ceremonial role as head of state.
...Lauded for its stable democracy, Cape Verde in 2008 became only the second country after Botswana to be promoted by the United Nations out of the ranks of the 50 least developed countries.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Area: 1,555 sq. miles
population: 567,000. A genetic study revealed that the ancestry of the population in Cape Verde is 57% African and 43% European
I just found this blurb about a country I know hardly about to be a bit interesting, so sharing it
The campaign hinged on the need to modernise the economy and keep growth steady while dealing with unemployment rates of up to 18 percent.
Don't know how these two quotes made it into the same story?
Every time a socialist loses an election, an angel gets its wings.
I dont know either ... maybe 18% is low for Africa?
Yes. South Africa (one of the better run economies) has an unemployment rate of close to 30%. Most African politicians will not be unduly bothered about an unemployment rate of 40%.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.